The island of Ozom
by defenseman13
Summary: Royce wakes up in a strange land. Not knowing where he is or how he got here. He now has to figure out how to get back home to earth. So, I threw this in Pathfinder because a lot of the elements and the inspiration come from this game.
1. Chapter 1

Royce was already done with today and he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. He had a massive headache centered right behind his eyes and for some reason, he was freezing, though it should be early summer. He laid there with his eyes closed contemplating going back to sleep when he started noticing his bed. The bed he was currently laying on did not feel like his normal bed. Was he laying on a cot? A hammock? Both? He opened his eyes and was shocked awake at the stone ceiling he saw above him. This made him sit straight up, which was a terrible mistake, the headache he already had intensified with the sudden change in his orientation causing his gag reflex to activate. He leaned forward, closing his eyes and covering his head with hands trying to fight the urge to vomit. After a few minutes, he was able to slowly sit back up. Looking around he noticed that he was in some type of stone structure. There was one window in this room that was open, as well as a door that was open. "Well, it doesn't appear that I'm in jail which is something." He thought to himself. Next thing he noticed was his clothing, he was not in his usual pajamas but some type of light cloth shirt and pants, the pants seemed to be a dark brown, the shirt was a long sleeve, khaki colored shirt. There was a "V" cut in the center of the collar that had a string wrapped in it similar to how a shoe gets laced up.

" Well, nothing to do but try and get up and look around." He said out loud as he turned himself to get out of bed. Standing up was the second terrible idea. Every muscle in his body felt bruised and sore. Last time he felt this sore he had played two hockey games in a day back to back. With an extreme effort, he hobbled his way to the door. Stepping out of the door he found himself at a set of stairs that go up and a door straight across from him. He hobbled over to the second door and opened it. This door opened to the outside. It was raining hard and all he saw was a rocky coast. Taking one look Royce promptly closed the door and turned around. "I will deal with that later." Thinking as he turned around and headed for the stairs. Looking up the stairs that wound around the walls of the building he was in. Not excited but not seeing any other options he started heading up the stairs. His leg protested with each step. He somehow made it up 10 steps when he suddenly heard a voice from above him. "Hey! Don't climb the stairs." Looking up Royce saw what appeared to be two men, one of which was heading down the stairs while the other stayed at the top. The man who was at the top was the one yelling. "Stay there, Ortosh will come down and get you. You will end up hurting yourself otherwise." Royce was frozen to the step both confused and afraid. The man coming down the stairs, Ortosh according to the other man, made his way to Royce. Ortosh was a large man, easily 6 feet plus and looked strong enough to carry Royce with one arm. He was bald but had a big bushy black beard. His eyes were bright green and stood out from his dark skin. The face he had shown some warmth. "Hello young one, My name is Ortosh." The man said with a friendly tone. "If you will allow me to carry you up the stairs, I'm sure you have many questions and once we get to the top of the stairs Curgo and I will explain as best we can. However, climbing up the stairs will probably do you more harm than good." The man had reached out his hand to Royce. Royce was guarded but, again, didn't really see a choice. Taking the mans hand and shaking it. "Yeah, I guess," he said a bit apprehensively. Ortosh lifted Royce up, carrying him in his arms as if Royce weighed as much as a child, and carried him up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, Ortosh gently set Royce down where the other man who Royce assumed was Curgo. Curgo was built similar to Ortosh, though not as dark of skin, Curgo had bronze skin as opposed to Ortoshs dark brown. Curgo also had soft brown eyes. Curgo also had a beard with black hair but it was trimmed, with a full head of hair. While Curgo did look quite strong Ortosh made him look small. However, Royce stood at just under Five and a half feet and both Curgo and Ortosh made him feel like a child while standing next to them.

"Hello, I'm Curgo," he said softly with a warm smile. "Here let me help you into the dining area" Curgo had offered his arm to Royce, while his other hand pointed to the door they were standing by. Royce, once again apprehensively, accepted the arm and let himself be lead slowly to a chair by a table. This room was bigger than the room Royce had woken up in but Royce wasn't prepared to call the room large. It was warm, most likely due to what looked like an old wood burning stove sat against one wall. There was also a few cupboards and a well-sized pantry cabinet on this side of the room. The other side of the room must have been the sitting area. It had a couch, a couple chairs and a bookshelf filled with books. There was also a door in this room that Royce guessed went to a bedroom. The most surprising part was how the room was lit. Right in the middle of the ceiling was a hole that looked to be covered by thick glass which was letting in light from a large fire sitting on the glass. "Well, you look like you are feeling better." Curgo offered, snapping Royce's attention back from the fire above him. "We were a little worried you might not wake up."

"Uh, yeah about that. Where am I?" Royce asked

"Right to the point then." Curgo chuckled as he and Ortosh sat down. "Yes, that is understandable, however, you have been asleep for at least three days so you need food." At that Ortosh pushed a plate of eggs, bacon and a biscuit across the table to Royce, saying. " We will answer any questions you have but please eat something first."

At that Royce realized how famished he was, so with a glance at his food he dug in with a gusto.

Once again the two men chuckled, while Curgo said "Well I guess that is a compliment to my breakfasts. I shudder to think what our table will look like when he tries some of your dinners." taking a hold of Ortosh's hand.

"We will need to re-stain the table." Ortosh joked back. "Now young one, You are currently on the island of Ozom. More specifically you are at The Lighthouse. Once again I am Ortosh and this is my husband Curgo, we are The Keepers of The Lighthouse, though that doesn't require much work so "Keepers" is more a formality. What was your name?"

Royce was able to get in touch with reality long enough to swallow before answering. "Uh..Royce, Royce Kordem." With this pause to have to speak, he took his time in eating his food so he could actually a hold a conversation. "So, I've been asleep for three days you said? How did I get here?"

"Well, we saw you in the ocean heading toward the shore. Thankfully Curgo is a strong swimmer and was able to get to you before you were dashed across the rocks. How you into the water is not something I can tell you, unfortunately." Ortosh answered

Curgo continued saying. "Ortosh carried you here and I've been caring for you. I also apologize, I had to remove the clothing you were wearing. They are dry, though they are not of a material I do not know of."

"Oh, yeah. That is fine thank you. Where are they?" Royce asked, "I shall fetch them for you." Curgo answered and stood heading to the other door Royce had seen earlier.

"Now, crazy question, but do you happen to know how I can get home?" Royce asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"I can not answer that." Replied Ortosh with a touch of sadness in his voice.

"However, we may know where you can get that answer." Curgo had come back and handed Royce his clothes. A Shirt, and a pair of jeans. "No socks and shoes? I guess I can't complain too much." Royce thought to himself. "I have clothes in my delusion."

"Where is that?" Royce had brought himself back to the conversation.

"Ortosh comes from a tribe deep in the mountains, they have an oracle living among them that may be able to tell you more and help get you home."

" , what?"

"Don't strain yourself, I'm aware this is a lot to take in, you still have a few days before you are fully recovered so you can take as long as you need to get adjusted." Ortosh quickly offered. "You can, of course, stay here, we aren't going to kick out into a world you don't know anything about. We will try to answer as many questions as you have for us."

Curgo then added, "The bedroom downstairs is yours to use if you need your privacy, we can also set you up with a sectioned off space up here, where it is warmer."

Once again Royce was feeling overwhelmed but he managed to get control over himself to ask one last simple question. "Uh, do you guys have anything to drink?"

At this, the two men let out a roar of laughter, to which Royce was able to join in. They brought Royce some beverage that was similar to coffee, Royce couldn't pronounce what they called it so he didn't even try. He just drank and continued the conversation.

Ortosh ended up moving the bed up to the living room, while curgo got some wood and gave Royce space where he could stay and have some form of privacy without having to go up and down the stairs of the lighthouse. He at first could only move around the living room and even then barely, but under Curgos care, he was able to move with less discomfort. Eventually, he even stepped outside of the lighthouse to walk around on the shore. The entire time he didn't say much. He was too absorbed in his situation. Not sure what to do, or there was anything he could do.

A few days after first waking up. Royce made his decision. "I think I'll go talk to the Oracle if that's ok with you guys. Though I would need help getting there." He said at breakfast that morning. To which Curgo and Ortosh nodded. "Absolutely my friend, I've actually got someone coming to visit soon who can accompany you on your journey." offered Ortosh.

"We would also be more than happy to teach you some skills you may need. Ortosh is the better fisher, but he says I'm the better cook. Don't believe him." Curgo added with a loving shove at his husband.

"Well, Curgo, as you know, is an excellent healer, he is also quite adept at knife play if you can believe that," Ortosh added shoving back, almost knocking Curgo off his chair. "Between the two of us, you will learn enough to get you there safely."

"I really appreciate that I appreciate everything you have done for me," Royce said, with a small crack in his voice. These people are strangers yet they were had helped him get back to health, and we're going to help get him somewhere he could hopefully get home. "I wish I could pay you back for everything you have done."

"Oh hush young one,"Ortosh answered.

"We are happy to help and think nothing of this "paying us back" that you speak of. Sometimes people want to help because it's the right thing to do, not for something in return."

"I know, I'm just not used to it. I'm used to doing everything myself, not getting help from anyone, much less complete stranger." Royce managed to get out holding back tears

The two men glanced at each other then Curgo stood and knelt down to look at Royce in the eyes. "To start your lessons I offer some advice. You can't get through life all by yourself, you will need peoples help. It's ok to let people help you, and you won't' be a weaker person because of it." With that Curgo hugged Royce for a few moments. Letting go Curgo and Royce stood. "Well, where shall I begin my next lesson than sir?"

"None of that "sir" business and you are going to go with Ortosh and help him catch dinner."

That started a training which Royce found to be surprisingly enjoyable. He spent the next month learning everything the couple was able to teach him. Ortosh taught him how to build his own fishing rod from the wood that occasionally washed up near The Lighthouse, as well as how to clean and cook what was caught. Ortosh also taught him how to recognize beneficial plants for food. Curgo also taught him how to cook, as well as some basic healing, from cleaning and wrapping wounds to finding medicinal plants. Curgo also taught him how to use a knife to defend himself. When Royce wasn't learning from them he was reading the books the two men had. Royce wasn't sure how the two men knew English but he counted on that not being the norm. He had both Ortosh and Curgo teach him the most common language in Ozom, which oddly enough was called "Common" According to Ortosh, it was actually a combination of Human (what Royce called English), Elvan, and The Swamp language. Lastly, Royce made sure to jog up and down the stairs a few times a day, to get himself into shape. He wasn't sure what he would encounter, but he knew he didn't want to get eaten because he couldn't run anymore.

One day, while they were about to sit down for dinner, they all heard a loud banging coming from downstairs. "Ah, that must be Kri, I was wondering when she was going to show up," Ortosh said as he stood and left the upstairs room. "Kri?" Royce asked Curgo.

"Kri is Ortoshs, niece, she is the one he mentioned may help you get to the Oracle," answered Curgo

"Ah, well shall I get a plate for her?"

"Best do, She is probably hungry from her journey, and make sure to give her a double helping, if I remember correctly, she is the only one I've known that could eat more than Ortosh. Well not including you." He added with a smirk.

Royce rolled his eyes as he stood and headed to get a plate from the cupboard. Royce was actually guilty of needing to stand to calm his nerves. If this Kri was anything like her Uncle Royce was expecting her to be tall and built like a truck. He wouldn't be surprised if she could lift him as easily as Ortosh does.

"Uncle Curgo!" came a voice from behind Royce

"Little Kri, how are you darling?"

With that Royce turned around and was almost floored by the person he saw hugging Curgo. She was nothing like Royce imagined. She was tall but not as tall as her uncles, with long red hair that went halfway down her back. She was wearing what looked to be a combination of fur and leather shirt and pants with soft leather boots tied up to halfway up her calf. She was not nearly as muscular as what was expected but there was some definition, and.."Wait, how big is that sword"

Kri was holding a sword that was to Royces best guess close to 7 feet long and she had it strapped to her back as if this was the most normal thing.

Curgo actually walked around his niece and was looking at the sword commenting. "Now now Kri, is this weapon really appropriate for a young lady?" He said this with a straight face...for a whole second before bursting into a belly laugh cause Kri and Ortosh to also laugh.

"Oh Uncle, what a joker you are." Kri chuckled while casually punching his shoulder. Which caused him to fall back a solid five feet.

Royce watched this entire scene holding the plate with Kri's food not being able to move. The entire scene he witnessed was the oddest one since he woke up at The Lighthouse. This girl was half her uncle's size and just knocked him across the room with a casual blow to his shoulder, and Ortosh expects Royce to travel with her to the mountains to meet this Oracle? If Royce could wake up early that would be great. He didn't want to say something on accident and have her use him as a throwing spear, which he was convinced she could do easily.

"Royce, stop standing there and come join us." The two men and Kri had sat down at the table and were all looking at him. Royce snapped himself back to reality (or whatever reality he was in) and put the plate in front of Kri before sitting down himself.

"Well, Royce this is Kri, my niece. Neice Kri, this is our house guest Royce." Ortosh

"*Beannachtaí*," Kri said without paying attention. "Whose idea was it to make *aicme*, which one of you loves me?" She said as she started shoveling the food into her mouth. To which Curgo turned to Royce "Told you, she could eat."

"Royce and I caught the fish this morning, however, we weren't planning on you being here until tomorrow. Curgo has a salmon currently being smoked upstairs." Ortosh replied. "Speaking of fish, where is Notaku? We kept a fish that nearly pulled the poor boy over here into the ocean just for him"

"Oh, you know him and stairs. He will stay downstairs as long as we are here, then be mad at me for a few days after." Kri answered between mouthfuls.

"Notaku?" Royce asked, regretting asking as soon as it came out of his mouth. He was full upon oddities for the day and was not excited for more.

"Notaku is her pet," Ortosh said, putting emphasis on the word pet. He has been following Kri ever since she got him out of an Eagles nest a few years ago.

"Companion." Kri corrected sternly. "It was also a Roc's nest, not just some eagle. No way a simple eagle could take Taku in a fight."

"Uh..OK" Royce said sheepishly. Once again trying to avoid any other surprises.

Luckily for him, the dinner went along fairly normally, Kri and her uncles swapped small talk and caught up on how the family was doing. (Mom is good but she wishes you would come visit, dad promises not to shrink you anymore.) They also got news from around the island, which was not great. According to Kri, there was a rumor of sounds coming out of The Crag.

"The Crag?" I wasn't aware the canyon had a bottom?" the Curgo had asked her when she brought this up.

"I wasn't either but we have had people from all over give us news that there is something down there, and if the rumors are true the sounds are of something being built." She replied ominously.

"That is unsettling, maybe it is high time we went and visited your sister," Curgo said to Ortosh

"I agree, I'd like to get more information if possible and we can't do that here." Ortosh had a look of deep concentration on his face. "Which brings us to the real reason we called you here."

"What, you wanted something besides my wonderful company, and to bask in my beauty," Kri said sarcastically with a flitter of her eyelashes.

"Yes, as much as we do love to see you, Royce here has a question for you," Curgo answered seriously while looking at Royce.

Royce was wondering when they were going to get to him, yet he still hadn't prepared himself for it. He took a long drink of his water to buy some time. Unfortunately, the three other people staring at him caused him to choke.

Spluttering, he was able to clear his throat and get words out. "Uh, yeah. So I heard about The Oracle of the Mountain Tribes and was hoping they might be able to tell me how I might get home." Royce started out sheepishly but as he spoke he gained some confidence. " I was hoping you could show me the way there?"

Kri took a look at him then started conversing to her uncles in a language that didn't seem to be any of the languages Common consisted of. He sat there confused and downtrodden, so he just stared at his cup and waited.

A few minutes of talking and they all looked at him again. "Alright, I'll do it." Kri answered, "Though I don't like it." Royce had perked up but had his excitement dashed away at the last statement.

"Oh, don't take it personally, I don't like it because of my own reasons, nothing to do with you." Kri offered reassuringly, which made Royce feel better.

"We are leaving in a few days, long enough to get things packed up for you and my uncles who will be joining us for the first few days of our journey but will separate when we get to the mainland."

With that, they finished dinner, cleaned up and all headed to bed. Kri took the downstairs bedroom so "Notaku won't be as upset with me." Over the next few days, they packed up their bags, Curgo and Ortosh helping Royce make sure he had everything, and making sure he knew how to pack his backpack correctly. The night before they were to leave Kri "convinced" Notaku to climb the stairs and join them. She mostly carried him over her shoulder. Notaku turned out to be a very large badger (it was almost as big as Royce, Royce was starting to wonder if there was anything on this island not as big or bigger as himself.) Notaku was less than pleased at having to come up the stairs but seemed content enough when Royce offered him the fish they caught for him, only looking at them with irritation when he had finished eating. They had a special dinner courtesy of Curgo and Ortosh which was delicious filled them up so much they all barely made it to their bed, Kri didn't even make it to the door, she simply laid her head on Notakue and fell right asleep.

The next morning, they woke up early and had a quick breakfast before double checking they had everything, before going downstairs.(Take growling the entire time because Kri wouldn't carry him.) Curgo and Ortosh took a moment getting their emotions of leaving there home in order before the companions all set off east towards the mainland.


	2. Chapter 2

The first day was relatively easy, there was a path that wasn't used much but still in good condition coming out of the lighthouse that they were able to travel for most of the day. Royce was able to keep up with everyone, with little effort. Thankful he had the foresight to jog the lighthouse stairs on a regular basis. They decided not to stop for lunch but eat while walking. They ended up breaking camp a few hours before dusk, where everyone helping to set up camp and get dinner going.

"Alright, how we doing watches?" Kri asked as they were eating dinner.

"Think that's necessary?" Ortosh replied "Not much out here, other than the occasional crab that walks around.

"Call me paranoid then?" Kri answered with a smirk.

"I have an excellent idea," Curgo said. At this point, Royce could make a guess at what was coming. "I vote Royce gets to keep first watch ." (Saw that coming a mile away.) "So, I'm all for this, I'm sure it will be a great learning experience, however, would it be wise to have me do this myself the first time?" Royce asked, hoping his fear didn't show up in his voice.

"Oh, I like this idea a lot, and you won't be alone. Taku can join you, badgers are normally nocturnal anyway." Kri nodded in agreement. Royce and the badger looked at each other, Notaku gave a small growl and went back to his fish. "Well, that wasn't disproval, so it's something" Royce consented. The others chuckled, set out the rest of watches and laid down to get some sleep. Luckily for Royce, his watch was rather uneventful. One of the crabs Ortosh mentioned wandered into the camp hoping to steal some fish but decided against it when it got a look at the badger standing over the same fish. After a couple of hours, Royce woke the next person and prepared to get some sleep.

It then took the party a few days to get to the mainland, most of which was spent traveling, eating and sleeping. Curgo and Ortosh did take any opportunity that came up to teach Royce more about their island and additional survival techniques as they came up. Kri even sparred with Royce, teaching him some hand to hand, as well as additional knife play. Notaku even managed to look at him with less annoyance and more indifference which according to Kri was as much of a win as Royce was going to get.

After some traveling, the party crested a hill and Royce was able to get his first look at the main portion of the island. Fromm his vantage point at the top of the hill they were on he saw a vast forest of trees, redwoods, and oaks from what he could tell, that was pretty densely packed together turning, he saw the mountain range that covered the southern portion of the island, which was also his destination. He started getting mixed feelings about these mountains. They were some of the most beautiful looking mountains he had ever seen. The snow capping the closest one he saw reminded him of Mount Timpanogos from his home, and though he had hiked the Unitas as a scout plenty of times he was not sure if he would be able to scale these rocky cliffs.

"Don't worry, she is easier than she looks." Kri had stood next to Royce and was looking up at mountains ahead of them. "We aren't headed for the top but fairly close. There is a valley about a weeks journey up to where the barbarians live. That's where The Oracle will be.

"Barbarians? Like savages?" Royce asked incredulously

Kri chuckled a little at this "No, and I would refrain from using that term when we get there. Barbarians are a term the people of the mountains have used for as long as anyone can remember. Even The Oracle, who is very old, can not remember a time that they weren't called Barbarians. They are a fairly civilized people, with laws and structures as much as anyone. Barbarians are just a term."

"Oh, my bad," Royce replied a little ashamedly. "Are they all human?"

"Don't worry about it young one" Curgo had come and joined Royce and Kri. "Most of them are, Ortosh and I are from The Tribe. But there are some members from the other races of Ozom."

Royce looked at both of the men and had his anxieties about meeting The Oracle intensify. He imagined an entire city of huge men walking around with himself trying not to get trampled while crossing the street.

"Well, this is where our paths separate," Ortosh said holding his niece tightly. "Good luck *cinn óga*, go with safety."

Curgo hugged Kri as well. Royce held his hand out to Ortosh, which Ortosh took and pulled Royce into a big bear hug squeezing the smaller tightly. Letting go, Royce, tried to get his breath back when Curgo grabbed him and gave him a similar hug as his husband. When Curgo had let go of him Royce had to kneel so he could get the breath back into his lungs and get feeling back in his arms.

"I can't thank you two enough," Royce said as he struggled to stand.

"Think nothing of it," Curgo answered waving his hand.

"Just make sure to come visit us before you are able to go home if possible," Ortosh added. The two men then headed toward the forest walking hand in hand.

Royce and Kri watched them go a few moments before turning themselves towards the mountains.

"Ready?" She asked him

"As ready as I'm ever going to be" He replied. The pair then set off them heading up and east. Neither of them sure of what lay before them.


	3. Chapter 3

Royce and Kri did not travel far before they found a cave that they could rest at, though it was only midday. Kri wanted to rest now that there was an opportunity to do so instead of risking them not having a place to set up camp when they needed it. Royce didn't see any reason to argue against it and started setting up the bed and getting lunch prepared.

"Now let's talk," Kri said with a tone of voice that told Royce that she would be the one doing most of the talking. "We don't' really know each other much and I'm sure we will get to know each other over the next few days, however, I want to lay some ground rules down right now."

"Yeah sounds good." Royce was confused but not about to argue.

"First, these mountains aren't as hospitable as the area surrounding The Lighthouse so you will have to be more cautious now than you have been, which you are already doing a good job so it shouldn't be hard."

All Royce did was nod.

"Second. The village is northeast from here. If you look out you can see a mountain with a convenient arrow shape on the face. That was put there on purpose. It's pointing almost exactly where the village is, so if you and I somehow get separated just head there."

Royce took a look at where she pointed, noticed that there was in fact what looked like an arrow pointing down on the face of the mountain. Looking back at her he once again nodded.

"Lastly, if for whatever reason we get into some trouble and I tell you to run, you best be running. I'm impressed with the way you can handle a knife but there are things out there that will completely ignore the knife if you stuck in their lungs."

"Gotcha. May I ask what kind of things you might be talking about?"

"Ever heard of a Bugbear or a Strix?"

"Sure haven't," Royce answered coming up with his own ideas on what those creatures might look like, nothing good he figured

"Well, a Bugbear isn't too bad but could do some harm, a Strix, however, is very bad news."

"So run if you say run I runand head toward the arrow. Gotcha.

"Yes, if you do get to the village without me just mention how Ortosh and Curgo told you to see The Oracle and the people will get you from there. Now, Hi I'm Kri. It's nice to meet you."

Royce stood there dumbfounded at how the way she went from serious to cheerful without skipping a beat.

"I'm Royce." He finally said taking her hand and shaking it.

The two then spent the afternoon and evening getting to know each other. She told him about her parents and the city she was from deep in the forest. She showed him a bit of the magic she was able to cast. (Royce is certain Notaku laughed at him when she summoned vines to wrap him up and bring him to the ground.) He told her about his life and what he remembered before waking up. She didn't quite understand it all and he lost her when he tried to explain electricity as a way of lighting a room and not using fire or spells. Once it became fully dark Kri suggested they head farther into the cave so they could both get some sleep instead of having to deal with watches. They both tucked themselves in, with Notaku laying closer to the cave entrance and they all drifted off to sleep.

Royce, Kri, and Notaku had a fairly uneventful next few days. The air was getting colder the farther up they went which caused them to pull out wool cloaks. They also had a small incident where Royce hopped off a small ledge that happened to have a Lynx resting below the ledge. The lynx growled, Royce fell backward and started tumbling down rocky hill. Luckily Kri was able to catch Royce before he flew off the mountainside, and Notaku was able to calm, or at least scare, the lynx into leaving them alone.

The big trouble came when they were a day or two outside of the village. They were just about to take a rest for lunch. They were sitting down at the top of a cliff they had just scaled when the ground beneath them started to tremble. It was just a short tremble and Kri shrugged her shoulders when it happened again. This caused her to be concerned. Both she and Royce stood up and looked around. Royce was the one who saw what was causing the trembling, and he was not sure what exactly he was looking at. Off to the south-west, were two creatures that looked a lot like humans, though they were definitely not humans. They stood, at Royce's best guess, about 12 feet tall. Their skin was a dark gray that almost matched the side of the cliff they were striding across. They had no hair, and their head was very angular, even the top of the head looked square. They wore simple pants that looked like they were made with a combination of animal skins and the earth itself. One had a boulder as big as a house in its arm while the other was carrying a tree that looked like it was ripped right out of the ground.

"What are those and are they friendly?" Royce asked not attempting to mask his fear.

"Stone Giants and no. Though they don't' ever get this close to Croydon." She answered. She had started gathering up things hastily. "If we are lucky they haven't seen us yet and we can hide until they pass."

"If they have seen us?" Royce said while making sure he grabbed things as well.

"Run." They both took a look back at the giants to check on them when they saw the one carrying the boulder took it in one hand and hurled it in the direction of Royce and Kri

"Oh, my h-" Royce started before Kri shoved him "RUN!" With that, the pair ran off with the badger not far behind. Luckily for them, the boulder overshot and fell down the cliff. Without looking back Royce heard a loud crack and then a crash. His best guess was that the one with the tree used it on the one who threw the boulder. He was not going to look to confirm.

They ran quickly to a set of rocky crevasses to the north, ducking into one they pair ducked and listened for the giants.

"More than likely they won't be looking for us, but they shouldn't be this far down, So we aren't taking any chances. You are Notaku are going to continue towards the village."

"Got it." Royce was not about to argue. Notaku, however, was less than pleased with the idea. He bared his fangs at Kri.

"Hush you, you two have to get to Croydon and warn them that giants came off the mountain. This is unusual and doesn't bode well."

"Ok, what are you planning on doing?"

"Something reckless and may get me killed," Kri said with a smirk on her face as she handed Royce some her belongings from her backpack and pulled her sword from her back.

"To be honest, I'm not sure who will be worse off, you are the giants," Royce smirked.

"Two of them against me. That may make it even."

"Hey..listen..."

Kri reached out her hand "Don't mention it. I actually enjoyed the journey."

Royce took her hand and shook it. Kri then stood and headed out of the crevasse. "Now remember. Head towards the arrow and don't leave until you have counted to 500. That should give me enough time to get them away from you. Good luck"

"You too," Royce said as he watched check around the corners and head off.

With that Royce started his count.1..2...3...4... on and on until 498..499..500. He looked down at Notaku the and they both headed the opposite direction Kri had gone.

It took Royce a couple hours to navigate the twists and turns of what ended up being a slot canyon. Once he was out he was able to get his bearings, find the arrow, and get moving. He hadn't heard the giants chasing after Kri so he was not about to go looking for them. He did try and stay within outcroppings and avoid open spaces, thinking that he could find places to duck into easier this way on the chance the Giants were following him.

He spent the day traveling, without any signs of life, giant or otherwise. Notaku had found a small cave that seemed empty, and he was guessing from the way the badger was acting but he thought Notaku was saying it was empty so they set up camp, opting to skip the fire and get right to bed. Royce put his bed as far into the cave as he dared while Notaku lied down at the mouth of the cave. Royce tossed and turned all night, dreaming of various things a giant would do to him if they found him. None of it was pleasant. He finally gave up and got out of bed a few hours before dawn. He gathered all his things, nudged Notaku awake and the pair set off.

By midday, they were both tired but they had managed to trundle on moving ever closer to the arrow, and the village. When seemingly out of nowhere a large crash came from behind them. Both Royce and Notaku turned around to see a large boulder sitting about 50 feet away from them surrounded by dirt that the boulder had just displaced when it landed. Behind that rock, about 200 feet was one of the stone giants. It looked like it had a broken nose and some gashes in its legs. Royce's guess was the nose was broken by a tree but the gashes were most likely done by some type of sharp object, most likely a sword. Royce did not think things ended well for Kri but it looks like she gave it as much as she got. Unfortunately, the giant was in good enough shape to pick up another boulder and start throwing it.

"Time to go!" Royce barked, Notaku growled in agreement and the two started running. They heard the boulder crash behind them and then heard the giant start running towards them. Royce saw a small crack in a cliffside that he was thinking he could fit into and get away from the giant. He would just have to be run 200 feet before the giant caught up to him.

Royce was starting to lose hope. He could hear the steps get closer and closer. He then saw something step on a rock above him that caused him to stop. What he saw, or thought he saw was a small human with very large feet run and jump straight at the giant swinging a very large hammer down on its nose. Between the momentum of the jump and hammer, the giant fell backward with whatever it was continuing the assault.

"If I turn around and you and that damn rodent are still there, you are gonna have an angry halfling to deal with." Royce heard the "halfling" shout over the cries from the giant. So, without questioning Royce turned right around and headed towards that crack he saw earlier. As he got closer he saw another creature coming out of the crack. Royce slid to a stop as the creature stepped fully into view. Whatever this thing was it was not human and it looked mean. It stood well over 6 feet tall, made of pure muscle, making Curgo and Ortosh look small in comparison. Skin a red color with what Royce guess to be tusks coming out the bottom of its mouth. It had hard leather armor on except for the legs, hand, and forearms which were covered in what, again Royce was guessing, was some type of bone. It saw Royce and waved over to him.

"Come child, and hurry. Let's get you inside." It said with a surprisingly soft voice.

Royce was never going to have a normal day and he had to get used to that. He ran over to whatever it was and pushed through the crack. He squeezed about 10 feet before he came to a small room with a couple chairs, a table that had some cups and a plate of food on it. and a door on the opposite wall.

"Sit, sit, drink some water." Royce was gently lead to the chair where he sat, taking off his backpack. He looked across the table and didn't move.

"I'm Bulfim, I take you have never seen anything like me. I'm a Half-Orc. My companion is named Ebbo, and he is a Halfling. We are guarding the front entrance to Croydon, City of the Barbarians. Will you now drink." The cup was pushed closer to Royce who took it and slowly drank. Once he set it down Bulfim pushed the plate towards him and he took a few bites of what tasted like dried meat.

Once Bulfim was satisfied with the amount Royce had eaten she sat back in her chair asking "Ok, what is your name and,-"

"What in the Nine-Hells are you doing out here, and what was a Stone Giant doing chasing you?" came an extremely gruff voice from behind Royce, causing Royce to jump in his seat.

"Oh Ebbo, you are the personification of subtlety." Bulbin said rolling her eyes.

Ebbo had grabbed another chair and had sat between Royce and Bulbin. He just looked like your average human, with the exception of being only about three feet tall. He was also covered head toe in an alarming amount of blood. Ebbo slammed something on the table which from the looks of things was his hammer, that was now in pieces.

"Ok, amadán get talking. That was my favorite hammer so you better have a good story."

"Ebbo, you need to calm your self. He is obviously not to blame."

"That hammer was made out of Dragonbone, the head should not have shattered like it did but look at it." Ebbo was pointing furiously at the pieces of the hammerhead. "There is something going on here, Giants shouldn't be this far down, much less have the protection that that one did." Ebbo at this point was standing on the table to look at Bulfim. This could have been comical if Royce wasn't absolutely terrified.

"I understand that however, you have no right to be as angry at him, you have yet to come down from your rage and you have one last chance to do so before I throw you out the front door and seal it. Or I could bring you to the Oracle, she would probably have something more productive for your anger." Bulfim was not having anything Ebbo was saying and had stood to her full height and was adjusting her gauntlets.

"Fine." Ebbo finally agreed and sat back down, though he didn't' seem to be less angry, he had pulled out a knife and started to carve on the table, making sure to not look at either Royce or Bulfim if he did look up.

"Thank you, now please tell us what is going on." the half-orc turned to Royce, warmth back in her voice.

Royce took a few moments to stare at the pair before sitting back in his chair. He then recalled his tale. Everything from the moment he woke up in The Lighthouse, the time spent with Curgo, Ortosh, and Kri. He recalled the plan for him to see The Oracle with the hopes Royce could find a way home. Royce recalled the rumors coming from The Crag, he told the story of His and Kri's journey up the mountains, running from the giants, Kri going off to distract them, and after what seemed like hours. Royce goes to the giant chasing him and Notaku, the halfling (Which Ebbo was perked up and looked like he was going to say something until saw the look Bulfim was giving him, he decided against it and went back to carving) and with that Royce ended his tale.

Bulfim sat in quiet contemplation before standing "Ok Ebbo, we need to find Kri, go and gather a party to go out and search for her. We can probably start near where they separated. Could you figure out where these two separated from her?"

Ebbo simply nodded then got up and headed for the door that was across the room from the one they had all entered. Bulfim turned to Royce. "Yes, we will get you to The Oracle, however, if you can wait a little longer we will get you clean, into some warmer clothes, and place to sleep. I'm sure The Oracle will have dinner for you later today so you can explain everything to her.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Royce said with relief mixed with worry "What about Kri?"

" Don't you worry about her, we will find her. I knew her mother and if Kri is even half of the fighter she was Kri will be just fine." Bulfim sounded confident so Royce relaxed a little at that as well.

They had all walked to the second door and stepped out into the valley.


	4. Chapter 4

What Royce saw took his breath away. Kri had misinterpreted when she called Croydon a village. Even from this distance, he saw a city made from the same stone as the mountains surrounding the valley. He saw farms, markets, temples, houses, a few buildings that he guesses where armories or barracks due to their proximity of yards that had training dummies and people sparring. There was a building that could only be an arena. Royce, Notaku, and Bulfim started walking down the hill towards the city. As they go closer Royce could see that there were more people than what he was expected, he could guess that there must be thousands of people living here. Once they made it into the city proper Royce found out that most of the city was human but they weren't the only ones living there. There were what he was guessing to be Half-Orcs like Bulfin, though she pointed out that a few of them were full Orcs, with skin tones that were red, brown, black, and various shades of green. A few halflings strolled by in a heated discussion with beings that were slightly taller but only by a little, with huge beards that were as wide as the owner's bodies and almost going down to the ground. "Dwarves," Bullfim offered "If they offer you a drink, do your best to politely decline. You will still have to drink it but at least make the attempt." As they walked Buflim pointed out, even more, Elves, humans, Dragonborn, Tiefling, and even an Ogre, (10 feet tall. hands as big as Royces torso, ugly as sin)

Bulfim set Royce up in her guest bedroom and showed him to the bathhouse. He was apprehensive about bathing in public but the bathhouse used water that was magically heated and there was enough steam to reduce visibility. Royce had a nice relaxing soak and felt like a whole new person. After getting dressed and getting back to the house. He lied down and must have fallen asleep. The next thing he knew Bulfim was shaking him awake

"Come, it's time to meet The Oracle." Royce rose, put on the boots, Curgo gave him and followed her. They walked down the street a few blocks and came to a small building.

"This is it?" Royce asked surprised

"Yes? What did you expect?"

"I dunno, a large home, or a temple of some sort?"

"Nah, she doesn't need much so she turned down any offers to build her something bigger," Bulfim answered as they came to the door and she knocked.

"If that is Bulfim knocking, I'll make rumors about her spread all over the city. I wonder if she actually does like roses?"

"She is also a bit eccentric, though she is over 500 years old so she does get some forgiveness." She said as she opened the door and let Royce through.

Inside was a simple room with a table that had two small candles as the only light sources in the room. Sitting at the table was a figure sitting in the shadows who gestured to the two chairs opposite. Royce and Bulfim sat. "You knew you had visitors, did you have to only use two candles? Just because you don't need light doesn't mean the rest of us don't?" Bulfim had taken the figure's hand and was holding it softly.

"I was trying to be mysterious." The figure replied, leaning into the light. The figure had her hood over her head so her hair was covered. Her face did not appear to be the face of someone who lived to be over 500 years old. Royce was sure he was looking at a woman in her thirties. The figure suddenly opened her eyes revealing eyes that were white and void of any iris. This caused Royce to jump back and almost fall out his chair. The Oracle, or at least Royce was guessing she was The Oracle, let out a mirthful laugh. Bulfim chuckled and shook her head. " I told you she was eccentric. Royce meet The Oracle of Ozom, Oracle, This is Royce, the boy I told you about earlier." The Oracle held her hand out, which Royce cautiously took."It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a little of your story, but please do tell me what brought you here.

So once again, Royce told the entirety of the story, not as extensively as when he first told Bulfim but he got the important parts in. "...and so yeah, I was hoping you could help me out? I'd like to go home if that is all possible." Royce finally said. The Oracle looked at him, Royce was not sure how she could look him in the eyes but she did, "I will see what I can see. Give me your hands again, and do not be alarmed. What you are about to witness may disturb you but you and I shall be alright. Royce hesitated, but with an exhale put his hands in The Oracles. She held them and then closed her eyes once more. She then started speaking in another language that Royce couldn't understand and next thing he knew he eyes flew open and they were glowing. Not just a small amount either, each one of her eyes had more light than a flashlight. The Oracle was still speaking but no longer in the strange language, she was speaking elvan from the few words that Royce was able to pick up that he recognized from Common. She seemed to be asking questions, either to her self or to someone else that wasn't in the room. Her face was changing from relaxed, to relieved, then too worried, and finally to frightened. Then, out of nowhere she closed her eyes and let go of Royce's hands. Bulfim went over and held her upright in her chair. The Oracle patted Bulfim's hands and then sat up. "I have some seen how to get you home."

"Well, that's great," Royce said sitting up

"That is not all I saw." She answered,

"Oh."

"All you have to do is sail off this island of your own volition." The way The Oracle said this made Royce feel like she wanted to tell him more but was waiting for him to ask.

"Wait? Any attempts to sail off the island have ended tragically" Bulfim said suddenly standing

"That is because we are born on this island and something about this island keeps us here." The Oracle responded a sadness in her voice. "Royce is not from this world, maybe not even this plane of existence. The island will not stop him from leaving"

"That actually sounds terrible. The people living on the island are trapped here." Royce said

"Yes, but this is our home. Most of us are content staying here. Besides, there is something else." She had not quite asked but Royce got the hint

"What else did you see?"

"I saw you, standing on the edge of The Crag, a grim determination in your eye as a castle floated past you followed by a monstrous creature. You than charged forward, followed by others and lept at the creature."

"Oh." Royce was not expecting that. "So what does this all mean?"

"Well, the great thing about peering into the future is that the answers you get are almost always cryptic and give you even more questions." Royce was not sure how that is great.

"My guess is that you can go home whenever you want. You can go home today if you wanted, well not today. Tomorrow for sure. Today you are having dinner with me. You can get home without any judgment from us. You could also stay here, you can live amongst us for a time. You could fulfill the part of the vision where you fight the monster, or you could not. If the monster does come out of The Crag, which odds are it will, just not sure when, but it will. You could either help defeat it or someone else could. You are not destined to save this island." The Oracle had taken his hands and was holding them gently. Bulfim was looking at him with a smile, reaching and grabbing his shoulder comfortingly.

"You are right, that does only make things harder." Royce sighed

"Yes, but if it will help you don't have to decide right away."

"You can stay with me as long as you want. No problems." Bulfim added.

"Yeah, ok. I'm not going to lie, as much as I was excited to go home. I'm suddenly overwhelmed." Royce said

"Well tonight, don't worry about it, let's have dinner and you can start thinking about your decision tomorrow." With that, The Oracle clapped her hand and from behind her a door opened and food came floating out. A fair amount of food was laid on the table in front of them as well as plates and utensils than somehow torches on the walls were lit giving off more light and making the room less ominous. Royce saw a few armchairs off in the corner as well.

"That's new" Bulfim added, impressed.

"I had Tiny summon up some unseen servants for me. More "eccentricity" The Oracle added, making quotation marks with her hands as she said eccentricity. The three of them ate, talked, Royce told them stories for his home, they told them stories of Ozom, sometime late in the night Royce and Bulfim made their way back to Bulfim's home where they both ended up heading straight for bed without saying anything to the other and falling fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days Royce wandered the city and kept to himself. Thinking about the choice he had. On the one side, Royce wanted to go home, he was a stranger in a strange land and felt extremely out of place. However, he knew what home was like, and it wasn't the worst life, it was enough to cause him to consider staying here. He wasn't sure of himself so he wandered and seemed lost in his thoughts. Bulfim tried to give him as much as space as he needed, but she made sure he ate and didn't stay in bed all day. Her argument was that if he ignored his physical health was deciding that it wouldn't matter what he decided. Royce couldn't argue with that so he also made sure to keep up his jogging routine from living with Curgo and Ortosh. Notaku however, never left his side and though he made a show of acting aloof, Royce could tell that the badger was making sure he was ok, as well as Notaku missed Kri and was attaching himself to Royce as a surrogate

A week after Royce arrived Bulfim burst into the home where Royce was about to make some lunch. She was panting like she had sprinted here. "The found Kri" was all she said before leaving again. Royce dropped his food and bolted out the door, Notaku not far behind. Bulfim lead them to the house of healing where The found Kri lying on a bed, a dwarf and an elf were standing over here saying something in their respective languages, light streaming from their hands into Kri. She did not look good. There were cuts and bruises all over her, her hair was bloodstained and a giant gash was on her left leg. The light coming from the healers was slowly healing her, closing up cuts and magically stitching the gash back together. Royce and Notaku watched in silence. After what felt like hours they were done working on her. The elf said that they put a sleep spell on her, so she will be out until sometime tomorrow. She was out of the danger zone and would be able to leave tomorrow. NOotaku sat himself down next to her bed and rested his head on her chest. The dwarf and elf looked at each other, the elf looking less than pleased. "Ye can tell it that it's not allowed here. I'm not growing your arm back though." The dwarf chuckled, to which the elf shrugged in exasperation and walked out.

The dwarf then turned to Royce, "Are ye Royce?" He asked

"Yes?"

"Before we put her to sleep, she managed to ask about you. You can stay here if you would like, though we won't' have a bed for you. The spell will be in effect until mid-morning tomorrow if you do want to stay in a bed and then come back."

"Thank you."

The dwarf patted Royce on the shoulder as he also walked out of the room. Bulfim turned to Royce "What say you?"

"Notaku is here, I don't know anything about magic healing but the healers seemed confident so I'll come back in the morning," Royce added not taking his eyes off her

"Fair enough. I need to go back to the entrance, I"ll see you this evening." Bulfim left as well. Royce took a moment, nodded at Notaku than left as well.

Royce was at the healers building first thing when he woke up. He was determined to make sure Kri was alright. When he walked in he was surprised to see The Oracle was there sitting by the bed. "Oh good morning," she said to him with a smile on her face but a hint of worry in the voice.

"Mornin" Royce grunted. He was never a morning person, and even though he had rushed over, he wasn't fully awake. This made The Oracle chuckle, but say nothing more. The two sat in silence for the remainder of the morning. Royce had to fight to nod off back to sleep. When Kri did stir and open her eyes she placed her hand on Notaku who had not left her side. She then saw Royce, smile and with some effort say "You made it."

"Yes, barely." Royce made his way to kneel next to the bed. "I owe you big time"

"You can start by getting me water," she said with a smirk on her face and taking his hand.

"Of course, I'll be right back." Royce stood and left the room, finding a healer to help him, get water. When he had returned Kri was sitting up and talking with The Oracle, she thanked him for the water. Royce sat down and tried to stay silent, and not badger her with questions.

"Alright, will you please tell us what happened? I'm curious and Royce may explode over there from sheer curiosity." The Oracle finally asked, somehow winking st Royce.

"Yes, well after Royce and I separated I found the Giants that were chasing after us, well more accurately they found me. They were waiting not far from the entrance of the crevice we hid in. I stepped out and had made a few yards away when I had been lifted and was looking a giant in the face. They had started laughing and speaking to each other in their own tongue. One of the giants started sniffing and then walked away, I assumed it was because he picked up your scent. I couldn't let that happen so with some effort, I broke free and getting into a fight with the two. I'm not sure how but I managed to kill one before the other got away." Kri turned to Royce at that point. "I'm so sorry, I tried, but I couldn't get stop it." tears were starting to build up in her eyes. "you aren't from this world, and just want to get home, yet I let you get into serious danger when I should have been protecting you."

Royce sat in silence, completely stunned. Here was this person who had known him a few weeks, yet she had not only risked her life to save him, she was apologizing for not doing enough. Royce than turned to The Oracle. Who had taken him into her city without any questions, a city whose people had been kind to him even though a good portion knew he was an outsider, both from the city and the island. Yet, he had yet to meet a person who was anything less than kind to him. "Don't be sorry. If anything I should be sorry." He finally managed to say. "Everyone has been so good to me. Taking me in, giving me food and shelter, teaching me with complete patience, protecting me and risking their lives for me." He was also starting to cry but was fighting it off. "You almost died from some giants and yet I'm the one here crying and feeling sorry for myself." He was starting to lose control of his emotions. "Kri, you and your uncles are the best things to have happened to me since I woke up on this island. You could, right this very second, tell me to get lost and figure out my own way home and I would still be eternally grateful for everything you have done." Royce walked over to Kri, hugged her and then walked out of the room. He made it halfway to Bulfim's house he ran straight to his room, sat down in a corner behind the door and let everything out. All the fear and confusion come bursting out of him like a dam had broken inside him. He cried so hard he had to gasp for each breath. It was an ugly cry but one that was a long time coming.

Not long after he had hidden, he heard a voice coming from the next room. "Royce, Royce, are you here?" it was Bulfim calling for him. Royce stood up and regained his composure before stepping out to meet her. "Yes sorry, I'm here." Bulfim took one look at him and knew what was going on. There wasn't a mirror in the room but Royce would be surprised if his face wasn't splotched, with dirt around his eyes from the tears. Bulfim didn't say anything she, she simply took him into her arms and held him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause a scene." was the only thing Royce could say as he let himself be held. "Well, The Oracle sent someone to cover for me and I talked to both her and Kri." She let go of him and held him at arm's length. "The only thing I can tell you is that you are a fool." This struck Royce like a slap in the face. "What?"

"You didn't cause a scene, Kri and The Oracle aren't upset, and holding in emotions is a terrible thing.."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want anyone to..."Royce said letting the sentence trail off.

"Well, if you learn anything from your stay here, is that emotions are powerful things, and they can be extremely productive. They are also things that everyone deals with and holding them in can be very dangerous." Bulfim had said this with a smile on her face. Royce looked confused.

"If you want, tomorrow I can show you what I mean after you visit Kri of course."

"She won't be mad at me?" Royce asked

"I'd be surprised if she did. Her mother was a barbarian so she would know all about the power of anger and fear."

Royce looked at the half-orc and made his decision. "Let's go see her now. Is The Oracle still there?"

It was Bulfim's turn to look confused. "I would assume so, she didn't appear to be leaving when I left."

"Alright, let's go," Royce added as he took her hand and walked out the door. Together they made the short distance to the healer's hut.

When they got there. Royce sat next to Kri's bed and offered another apologie to which she called him a fool as well. He then turned to everyone in the room.

"I'm staying. If that is still ok?"


End file.
